Deck for supporting vehicles in freight cars



Sept. 3. 1940 w. H. MUSSEY DECK FOR SUPPORTING VEHICLES IN FREIGHT CARS Filed June 6, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A ORNEY.

- Q INVENTCR. I Mama/502111556 QM L Sept. 3, 1940.

W. H. MUSSEY DECK FOR SUPPORTING VEHICLES IN FREIGHT CARS 2 Sheets-sheaf 2 Filed June 6, 1938 I NVENTOR. f A a way,

AT ORNEY.

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Harold J. Forster, Washington. D. 0., trustee for Association of Amati can Railroads, Washingto Application June a, iasafsenamauam' .izomm. (aloe-cs8) Hy'invention relates to an improved deck for supporting vehicles such as automobiles in freight cars andparticularly of a type of deck having continuous wheel runways thereon.

In loading automobiles, preferably four .in' number, in freight cars it is common practice to secure two automobiles on the floor of the car. back to back and to secure an automobile upon a deck over each floored automobile, the automo- 1 bile on each deck having its front end adjacent theside door of the car". Preferably, decks for this purpose have an end pivoted or indexed to the car body adjacent the floor, the opposite or front end being free to be raised or tilted-in order to provide space therebeneath for'an automobile secured to the car floor.

In supporting one automobile over the other it is essential that the deck upon which the elevated automobile is supported be constructed so 20 as to provide as much space as possible for the automobile beneath and also that the deck with its continuous so constructed that it may be tilted at as little angle aspossible with respecttothefloorofthecarinordertoprovide necessary clearance between the roof' of the decked automobile and the roof of the freight car. Even though the automobile upon the deck be secured thereto as rigidly as possible there is normally a certain amount of vertical movement 8 of the automobile with relation to the deck during transportation due to the flexibility of the'inflated Consequently, to prevent damage to the roof portion of the decked automobile it is n that suilicient space he provided he- 85 tweenitsroof andtheroofofthefreightcarto prevent any chance of contact between the two roofs under all conditions.

The main object of my invention is to provide a deck, preferably with continuous wheel runways,

d0 constructed to provide sufilcient space therebeneath for an automobile supported on the floor of the car and at the'same time to permit the deck tobetiltedtotheminimumanglewithrespectto the car floor and thereby provide a maximum amount of clearance between the roof of the automobile secured'to the deck and the roof of the freight car. 4

Further objects of my invention will appear as 50 the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and in which 1 Figure 1 is'a side elevation of the improved deck in its tilted pontion within a freight car 55 having thereon a supported automobile and having therebeneath a second on the floor of the car; Fig. 2,is aplanview of tinuous runways;

automobile supported the deck with its conrm. 3 is a longitudinalsectional side view of a s one of the continuousrunw'ays for the deck taken through the line 3-4, Fig. 2; a Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken through the line 4-4. of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken H,ofFlg.2; and g 6 is a' sectional view taken through the line 66,ofFig.2.-

Similar reference numbers and letters represent identical parts in all the figures.

I represents the floor of the conventional type j of freight car having the usual side doors, underframe etc. 1 2 represents the car and and 3 the car roof. A designates generally thedeck of this invention, 3 an automobile supported thereon with its rear end adjacent the end of the car and 'C an automobile on the floor of the car beneath the deck, thisautomobile havin its rear end adjacent the doorways ofthe car. While I- have shown and will describe only one deck in the car with an automobile thereon and an automobile therebeneath taking up approximately one-half of the freight car, it is understood, of course, that in the other half of the freight car the decldng arrangement, 'etc., is duplicated. 4 represents 30 anchoring means-ofany suitable type for securing the automobiles to the deck and car floor, 5 represents means whereby the rear end of'the deck is pivotally attached or indexed to an end i wallofthecarandlisasuspensionarmsuitably attached to the deck adjacent its forward end and to thecar adjacentthe roof for the purpose of supporting the front end of the deck in its elevated position. This on means forms no part of the present invention and any other type 40 of suspension means may be employed. Also any suitable hoisting mechanism and means may be employed to raise and tilt the forwardendoftheimproveddeckandmerelyasan u illustration, such means may include a pair of cables such as I, eachpair suitably attached adiacent the rear end of the deck as at 8,'and

adapted to run over pulleys 8 located adjacent 7 thereof ofthecar. Thecablesmaythencerun under pulleys iii onthefront end of-thedeck adjacentthecorners thereof,andthencetoahoisting mechanism uponthe deck or otherwise located. Asthe hoisting mechanismandmeansfor raisingthedeckdoesnotiormapartoitheprw through theline 1 members D, where they are connected to the eat invention it is thought no further reference to such mechanism and meansis required.

Coming now to the deck structure itself, generally designated byA, Drepresentsas awholethe side frame members substantially of U-shape, each having a base portion ll, Figure 4, and an upwardlyextending outer leg ll, this leg in turn having an outwardly extending reinforcing flange l3. Furthermore, themember D has an upwardly extending inner leg ll having an inwardly extending attaching flange II; The two side frame members D are connected at their ends by cross members I, II, of any suitable shape, the former being a cross member adjacent the rear or pivoted end of the deck and the latter being a cross member adjacent the front or free end of the deck. The ends of the cross members are welded or otherwise secured to side frame members D at points II, II, or other suitable points. It will be seen that the two-side frame members D with the end members I, I1 comprise what may be termed a frame with a central opening.

In order to provide an extra amount of space between the U-shaped side frame members D of the deck'for the top sides of the floored automobile, I have narrowed a portion of the base II and outwardly bowed or concaved a portion of the inner leg ll of each side frame member D between points x--Y, Figure 2, intermediate the ends of said side frame members and changed the angle of the inner leg ll between points x-Y, thus providing recesses to afford a greater distance between the aide frame' members substantially midway the ends of the deck. Thus, inFigure4,itwillbeseenthatthe ends'ofthe ends of the cross members Ill, II, have a comparatively wide base portion Ill and short vertical inner leg ll, whereas in Figure 5, a cross-sectional view taken through the line l-l of F18- ure 2, the base portion of the U-shape member D is narrowed as at II and the inner legit is increased in height. noted in Figure 6, a cross-sectional view taken through the line 0-8, of Figure 2, the base portion of the U-shape member D-is further narrowed as at H and the inner leg I4? is further increased in height.

As shown clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the distance from the'inner edge of the flange II on the inner leg ll to the outer leg I! is uniform.

throughout substantially the entire length of the U-shaped side frame member D. As shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the inner leg I4 is substantially vertical to the base portion H of the U-shaped side frame member at the end portions of the deck. As described hereinbefore, the base portion is narrowed or vertically concaved between points x- Y, Fig. 2, to afford a recess in each frame member. Fig. 5 clearly shows the base portion II' to be narrower than 'the base portion ll shown in 'Fig. 4; and Fig. 5 further reveals the inner leg ll extending upwardly and respectively. is vertically concaved or outwardly bowed in the direction of the outer leg II, which results in the provision of more space between the points 3-1! of Fig. 2 for the upper part of the qAfter the deck is tilted with an automobile I provide a novel continuous wheel runway "for Ands'tillfurthenitwillbe the upstanding outer leg I! of the member D as shown by Fig. 6, the leg I! being of the 'same XY as shown in Fig. 2 and are provided with 8 outwardly bowed inner legs in the direction of the car sides, -a'recess is provided in a vertical wall of the longitudinal frame members intermediate the ends of said members. I thereon, the second automobile 0 is run heneath the deck and secured to the floor with its top portion C located between the concaved or outwardly bowed part of the base ll of each member D. It will be readily seen that if each member D was not narrowed at its-central portion as just described to provide anex tra wide space between said members, less space would be available for the top portion- 0" of the automo-' bile beneath the deck and, consequen ly. it would a be necessary to tilt the deck at a greater angle. with respect to the floor to accommodate an au-. tomobile therebeneath;

In addition tothe construction Just described,

the deck which when combined with the frame members D, assists in providing additional space between the roof of the decked automobile and the roof of the freight car.

Each continuous runway. generally designated by It, has a bowed-up central portion II, as shown by Figure 3, this portion I! being joined to .end wheel supporting portions II by oifsets or downwardly inclined portions 2|. These runways are supported upon side frame members D and end portions. of cross members I, II. when in position the roof of the automobile C beneath the deck extends under the bowed-up portion IS, thus permitting the deck as a whole to be tiltedat less angle with respect tothe car floor than would be possible if the entire runway surface was on the same plane. The wheels of the decked automobile B, being supported upon lowered portions 20 of the runways, there is thus provided ample space between the roof of the automobile Band the roof of the freight car and likewise due to the lowered podtion of the wheels of the decked automobile upon the portions II ofr the runways, the deck as a whole is tilted at an r angle less than customarily and thus permits ample space between the .roof of the decked automobile B and the roof of the freight car.

It is necessary, of course, to support the runways II and their bowed-up portions 20 upon the side frame members D in a manner to prevent a flexing of the runways when loaded for service. This is accomplished by providing an upstanding flange 22 upon the outer edge of the runways and by welding or otherwise securing this iiange'to shown by Figure 4. Furthermore, the inwardly extending flange II at the top of the inner leg ll of the member l is secured to the under side of a the runways by welding or otherwise. To pro-- vide for the support of the bowed-up portion II as of the runway, the inner leg II, with its flange II, is of a height which corresponds with the height of the portion I! as shown by I 4?, Figure 6, it being understood that the flange 2210f the runway is. attached .to the leg I! near its top,

height throughout.

To assist in preventing lateral motion of the deck when it is being raised or lowered, I provide guides 28 suitably afiixed to the legs I! of the II their bowed-out portions will be seen that of the deck with and the wheel runways I portions permit automobiles of maximum width, height and length to be shipped with sufiicient clearance between the automobiles upon the floor and the deck and between the automobiles upon the deck and the roof of the freight car, thus minimizing the danger of damage to the shipped automobiles.

While I have shown and described a preferred with their bowed-up embodiment of the invention, it will be under-.

stood that it' is not to be limited to all the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: I

1. In a deck for supporting a vehicle in a tilted position in a freight car, said deck including side frame members each of substantially U- shape in cross section and having upstanding inner and outer legs joined by a base portion, each of said members intermediate its ends having its inner leg and base vertically concaved to form a recess to accommodate a side of the last mentioned vehicle adjacent the top thereof and wheel supporting runways secured to said legs-for the support of the first mentioned vehicle.

2. In a deck for supporting a vehicle in a tilted position in a'freight car above a second vehicle located upon the floor of the car, said deck including side frame members'each of substantially U-shape in cross section and having upstanding inner and outer legs joined a base portion, each of said members internfe te its ends having its inner leg and base vertically concaved to form a recess to accommodate a side of the last mentioned vehicle adjacent the top thereof, said inner leg forming said recess being of greater height than the remaining. portion of said leg and a continuous wheel supporting runway for the support of the first mentioned vehicle secured to said inner leg from end to end, said runway portion overlying said recess being upwardly bowed to provide additional space for the top-of the vehicle located beneath the deck.

3. In a deck for supporting a vehicle in-a tilted position in a freight car above a second vehicle located upon the floor cluding side frame members each of substantial- 1y U-shape in cross section and having an up-' standing inner leg and greater height than said inner leg, both legs being joined by a base portion, each of said members intermediate its ends having its inner leg and base vertically concaved to form a recess to accommodate a side of the last mentioned vehicle adjacent the top thereof, said inner leg forming said recess being of greater height than the remaining portion of said leg and a continuous wheel supporting runway for the support of the first mentioned vehicle secured to the top of said inner leg from end to end and to a vertical face the deck.

4. In a deck for supporting a vehicle in a tilted position in a freight car above a second vehicle located upon the floor of the car, said deck including side frame members each of substantially u-shape in cross section and having an upstanding inner leg and upstanding outer leg of I 2,213,501" deck and extending across and approximately to additional space for said inwardly extending located on the floor of of the car, said deck in- I 'mediate the ends of upstanding outer leg of .members and side frame members, each having ing upstanding inner 3* greater height than said inner leg both legs being joined by a base portion, intermediate its ends having each of said members its inner leg and base vertically concaved to form a recess to accommo date a side of adjacent the top thereof, said inner leg forming said recess being of greater height than the remaining portion of said wheel supporting runway said inner leg from end to end and to a vertical face of said outer leg, said, runway portion overlying said recess being upwardly bowed to provide the top of the vehicle bene'ath the deck and the lower runway'portions on opposflze sides of the upwardly bowed portion being adapted for the reception of the wheels of the first mention d vehicle,

5. In a deck for sup position in a freight car, said deck including side frame members each 'portion connecting said legs, each of said mem-' bers intermediate its ends having its inner leg and base vertically concaved to form a recess to accommodate a side of the last mentioned vehicle adjacent the top thereof and wheel supporting runways for the support of the first mentioned vehicle each having an upwardly extending attachment flange at its outer edge adapted to be secured to a vertical face of said outer leg and a portion adapted to be secured to flange of said inner leg.

' 6. In a deck for supporting vehicles in freight cars, said deck including side frame members of the last mentioned vehicle I orting a vehicle in a tilted of substantially .U-shape in cross section and having an upstanding innersubstantially U-shape in cross section, each having upstanding inner and outer legs joined by a base portion, a recess of substantial length in a vertical wall of each side frame member inter- I mediate its ends and a wheel supporting runway mounted on each side frame member.

"I. In a deck for supporting a vehicle in a tilted position in a freight car above a second vehicle the car, said deck including side frame members of substantially U- I shape in cross section, each side frame member having upstanding inner and outer legs joined by a base portion, each base portion being of decreased width for a substantial distance intereach inner leg being of increased height for a substantial distance intermediate the .ends of the side frame member whereby the deck is adapted to provide additional space for the fioor supported vehicle when said deck is in elevated position. r

8. In a deck for supporting a vehicle in a freight car above a floor supported vehicle, said deck comprlsing'wheel supporting runways, end cross frame members; said saide an upstanding innerand outer leg joined bya base member, the inner legs being recessed for a substantial length intermediate the ends of the side frame members.

9. A deck for supporting a vehicle in a freight car comprising side frame members and end cross members, the side frame members being of substantially U-shape in cross section and havand outer legs joined by a base portion, said base portion being of decreased width intermediate the ends of said member, said inner leg being recessed for a substantial distance intermediate the ends of said member the side frame member and each side frame member, each runway having a bowed-up portion intermediate its ends. 10. A deck for supportlna a vehicle in a tflted position in a freight car above a floor supported vehicle. said deck including spaced side frame members of substantially "UT-shape in cross section the side frame member having upstanding inner and outer legs joined by a' base portion, the inner leg of each side frame member being recessed for a substantial distance intermediate the ends (.of the side frame member, providing a greater distance between the recessed portions of the inner legs than between said inner legs at the endso'f said spaced side frame members whereby additional space is available for accommodating the floor supported vehicle.

'11. A deckforsupporting a vehicle in a tilted position above a floor supported vehicle, said deckincludinigsbsced wheel supporting runways aerator ,mountedonspacedsidefratnemembersofsubstantially U-shape in cross section; each side frame member having upstanding inner and outer legs-Joined by a base portion, the inner'leg of each side frame member being recessed toward the'adiacent outer lea for a substantial length intermediate the ends of the deck.

12. A deck for supporting a vehicle-in a tilted position above a floor supported vehicle, said deck including spaced wheel supporting runways mounted on spaced side framemembers of substantially U-shape in cross section. each side frame er legs Joined by a base portion, the inner leg of 4 each side frame member being recessed toward the adJacent outer leg for a substantial length in- Wei-11MB the ends of the deck and the said w eel supporting runways being upwardly bowed intermediate the ends of the deck,

WILLIAM H. MUBSEY.

gnember having upstanding inner and out-' 

